Pistol controlled device for timing races including a digital delay system



May 18, 1965 l. ROTH 3,184,678

PISTOL CONTROLLED DEVICE FOR TIMING RACES INCLUDING A DIGITAL DELAYSYSTEM Filed April '7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l AMPL IF/EE ACOUJ' T10TRANSDUCER BQC'E TIMING MECHANISM INV EN TOR. /?WNG lPor-fl I. ROTH May18, 1965 PISTOL CONTROLLED DEVICE FOR TIMING RACES INCLUDINGv A DIGITALDELAY SYSTEM Filed April "7. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 his n 05.2320

. IN VEN TOR. r/MG 6077/ United States Patent 3,184,678 PISTOLCONTROLLED DEVICE FOR TIMING RACES INCLUDING A DIGITAL DELAY SYSTEMIrving Roth, Williston Park, N.Y., assignor to Bulova Research andDevelopment Laboratories, Inc., Woodside, N.Y., a corporation of NewYork Filed Apr. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 101,563 1 Claim. (Cl. 324-68) Thepresent invention relates generally to timing devices and moreparticularly to a device suitable in foot races for synchronizing thetiming mechanism with the starters pistol shot.

Typically in foot races a starter shoots a blank pistol as a signal tostart the race. A clock or camera or other recording device must besynchronized with the pistol shot so as to start recordingsimultaneously with the start of the race. One technique that has beenused for this purpose is to set up a microphone at the starting linewhich gives an output signal to start the timing device when theexplosive acoustic signal reaches the microphone. A significant drawbackto this technique is the false starts which are caused by ambient noise.

Another technique is to use a special starters pistol internallyequipped with an electrical switch driven by the trigger throughmechanical linkages. A drawback to the mechanical linkage technique isthe possibility of error in time coincidence between the gun blast andswitch closure. Even were the linkage to introduce no error, there is atime delay between the blast going off and the instant the runners hearthe blast.

Accordingly it is the main object of this invention to provide a devicefor accurately synchronizing the recording or timing mechanism used totime a race with the starting gun blast.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device of theabove-described type which is adapted to operate in conjunction with anyexisting starting gun.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device which isresponsive to the starting gun blast and which operates in conjunctionwith a timing delay adjustment so that an electrical control signal foractuating the timing mechanism will occur at the time the sound of thepistol shot reaches the runners.

Briefly stated, these objects are attained by an acoustic or lightsensing cell mounted on or near the gun. The cell produces an electricsignal in response to the gun blast. The cell signal is amplified toproduce a control signal suitable for triggering a clock, camera orother recording or timing device. The control signal is then transmittedto the recording device through a manually adjustable time delay whichis set to make the arrival of the signal at the recording devicecoincide with the arrival of the sound from the gun blast at thestarting line.

Further objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be hadby referring to the following description and claim taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block schematic of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block schematic of the time delay unit.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the gun 10 is shot to produce a blast which isconcentrated in blast area 11. An acoustic transducer 12 is mounted nearthe blast area 11 and produces an electric signal in response to theblast. It is preferable, and frequently necessary, to mount a protectivewindow 13 across the face of the transducer 12 that receives the blastfrom the gun 10. The signal output of the transducer 12 is fed into anamplifier 14 to be magnified into an output signal adequate to triggerwhatever timing mechanism is used.

3,184,678 Patented May 18, 1965 "ice The timing in foot races isgenerally kept to a tenth of a second precision. For 60 and yard dashes,where the records are under 10 seconds, the need for such precision ismanifest. However, it is typical that tenth of a second precision iskept for all races, including those over a mile. Since the speed ofsound in air is about 108 feet per tenth of a second, the position ofthe starter can affect the accuracy of the timing if the blast triggersthe timing mechanism and thus starts the clock going before the sound ofthe blast reaches the runners at the starting line. To avoid suchinaccuracy, the output of the amplifier 14 is fed through a time delayunit 15 before being applied to the timing mechanism TM. Delay unit 15is preferably an adjustable delay unit with a dial 15a calibrated infeet so that the output of amplifier 14 can be delayed by an amountequal to the time it takes the blast to reach the starting line fromwherever the starting pistol 10 is located.

FIG. 2 illustrates a specific embodiment of the invention employing aphoto-electric transducer, such as an infra-red sensitive cell, insteadof an acoustic transducer. This embodiment assures that the infra-redcell will face the proper area 11 on the pistol 10 to receive infra-redradiations. The protective window W is shown in a viselike structure 16.Directly behind the window, and therefore not shown, is the infra-redcell and behind that is the amplifier (not shown). The barrel 18 of thestarters pistol is placed in between the two notched walls 19, 20 withthe handle 21 of the starters pistol 10 on the protective window W side22 of the clamp 16. Thumbscrews 23 are then turned to move wall 19toward wall 20 and thus securely clamp the pistol barrel 18. The pistol10 must be clamped with its handle 21 on the protective window W side ofthe clamp so that the window W will be in view of the flash area 11 ofthe gun 10.

The vise-like structure 16 is carried on the gun barrel 18 and so shouldbe made of a light material in order to avoid hampering the starter inhis use of the gun 10. The vise-like structure 16 is shown as removablefrom the gun 10 as such would be preferable in most applications.However, such structure can be permanently built onto a pistol that isused exclusively for races to produce a less unwieldy unit.

FIGURE 3 indicates how the time delay is accomplished in a preferredversion of the invention. An oscillator 26 continuously runs, but thebinary counters 28 cannot count the oscillator output cycles until asignal from the amplifier 14 is received by an and gate in the inputsection 30. The switch 31 selects the number of counts and the signalproceeds to the output section 32 after delay through the number ofbinary counters 28 that are selected by the switch 31. The dial 16 isdirectly connected to the switch 31 and rotation of dial 16 rotatesswitch 31. The output section 32 contains an electromechanical relaywhich closes on receipt of the output signal from the binary counters28, thus transmitting an output signal to actuate and start the racetiming mechanism used. The delay precision is limited only by theoscillator 26 frequency. The power supply 33 is of standard design andsupplies power for all sections of the delay circuit 15.

The amplifier 14 and sections of delay circuit 15 are shown in blockform since their design would be familiar to one skilled in the artpertinent to such design. However, high precision is desired in thedelay unit and for that reason a sequence of binary units as the mainconstituent of the delay circuit has been found preferable. Thetransducer 12 may require a bias for proper operation and in that case,the bias supply in the amplifier 14 can be used as transducer 12 bias.The amplifier 14 is preferably a self-contained unit having its ownbattery supplied power.

Although the invention has been described With a certain degree ofparticularity it is to be understood that the present disclosure is byWay of example and that changes in the details of construction andoperation will be apparent to one skilled in the art and can be. madeWithout departing from the scope and claims of the invention.

The crux of the invention is the coupling of a light, sound or heatsensing device with a starting pistol in such a fashion that the sensingdevice will respond to the pistol shot and produce a signal which can beused to start the race timing mechanism. Within this inven- 1 tiveconcept numerous embodiments may be made. For example, an acoustictransducer and an infra-red transducer embodiment have been shown, yet,any light, sound or heat transducer may be used that will respond to apistol blast, and the selection of one or the other is a matter ofchoice. Certainly, the clamp arrangement shown in FIG. 2 is but one wayof assuring the proper spatial alignment of the blast area with thetransducer. Even the use of a time delay device is optional and dependsupon the degree of accuracy desired.

It is intended, therefore, to cover all such modifications as fallWithin the true scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A race timing apparatus comprising a pistol'removed a predetermineddistance from a starting line suflicient to introduce a delay in theorder of a tenth of a second between the pistol shot and the time thesound thereof reaches the starting line, a transducer mounted on saidpistol and responsive to a shot therefrom to produce a control signal, arace timing mechanism, and a time delay device intercoupling saidtransducer to said mechanism to initiate the operation thereof at thesame instant the sound of the shot traverses said distance and reachesthe starting line removed from the pistol, said time delay deviceincluding an oscillator having a given frequency, .a counter coupled tosaid oscillator to count the cycles thereof and to provide an outputsignal when'a predetermined count is reached at said same instant toinitiate the operation of said mechanism, and means responsive to saidoutput signal to initiate the operation of said race-timing mechanism.

References Cited by theExaminer UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,146,320 7/15Fish 324- X 2,434,924 1/48 Hamilton 250-438 2,702,367 2/55 Ergen 7324-682,755,714 7/56 Germeshausen. -115 2,886,775 5/59 Gross 324-68 3,039,6856/62 Bagley 32468 OTHER REFERENCES Race Finish Recorder, by John C.Beckman et al., article, Electronics, December 1949, pages 981QO.

WALTER L. CARLSON, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL BERNSTEIN, FREDERICKM. STRADER,

Examiners.

